OAKLEY — By 9 a.m. Tuesday, Freedom High School varsity basketball coach Drew Torres could tell that something wasn’t right. It was finals week for his elective PE basketball class, and one of his best students, a basketball-obsessed 16-year-old named Torry Hines, was missing.

But it wasn’t until later that evening, on the heels of a dramatic boys basketball victory against Monte Vista High School, that Torres learned why his student was absent, and the truth was tragic: Hines had been killed that morning, when the car he was riding in crashed on East 18th Street in Antioch during a police chase. And Hines’ 22-year-old cousin, who was driving the car, had been arrested on suspicion of Hines’ murder.

“It was a huge win, and we went from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows,” Torres said, adding that Hines’ stepbrother is a star player on the varsity basketball team.

“My guys started finding out about it as they were on their way home, and they got on their cellphones,” the teacher said before a vigil in Hines’ honor at Freedom High School Wednesday night. “What an awful way to find out.”

All day Wednesday, students, many dressed in black and on their way to finals, brought flowers and candles to school to honor Hines. Authorities, meanwhile, were working to build a case against the driver of the car, who has been identified as Javonte Mathis, of Concord.

Mathis has been booked into County Jail in Martinez on suspicion of murder and felony evasion causing death to a person, and is being held on $1.1 million bail. The District Attorney’s Office has not yet filed charges against him, according to Sheriff’s spokesman Jimmy Lee, but a filing meeting is expected soon.

The incident began around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, when Deputy Sheriff Ian Jones — a 20-year police veteran patrolling the Oakley area — saw a white Toyota run a stop sign near Main Street and Bridgehead Road. Jones attempted to pull the car over, but it sped away heading west, police said.

Jones began pursuing the car, which continued to speed toward Antioch, eventually getting on East 18th Street. About a half-mile away from the start of the chase, the white Toyota crashed, hitting a telephone pole and crashing into a fire hydrant, causing a geyser-like display until crews were able to shut off the water. The car caught fire, and Hines has not been officially identified.

A stolen handgun was later recovered from the scene of the crash, police said.

Hines was killed instantly, his grandmother Evelyn LeBlue later told a crowd of more than 150 of Hines’ friends and family who gathered at Freedom High to remember the 16-year-old. But Mathis ran away from the scene, and was later arrested while trying to get into a nearby car, police said.

Hines’ father, Torry Hines Sr., said he’s still grief-stricken from the process of “burying my son,” whom he described as a “good kid.”

“His goals in life were about being a help to society. He was real positive,” Hines Sr. said. “He liked to help people, that was his thing. That’s why so many people are grieving right now.”

Those sentiments were echoed by many people who attended Wednesday’s memorial at Freedom High.

“I ain’t never cried, but I cried over this,” said Michael Westbrook, a close friend of Hines’ who said he plans to get a tattoo of the 16-year-old next week. “He was an honor roll kid. I love him and miss him. … He taught me stuff I couldn’t learn on my own. And he didn’t even get to be an adult.”

The mood at Freedom High was somber Wednesday and counselors were on-hand for students, Principal Kelly Manke said.

“He was a popular kid and well-liked,” Manke said. “He was a positive influence to them (his peers) and that’s what they’re so sad about. Bad things happen to good people, and regardless of all the other information that’s out there, that’s the vibe around campus today.”

At Freedom High’s campus, students wrote notes to Hines, which were posted around the school. Some contained messages of hope, or inside jokes, and one was even a promise from Hines’ friend that he still planned on paying Hines’ back the $20 that he had borrowed. On Wednesday evening, friends and family lighted candles, shared memories of Hines, and cried as his family members made statements. Among those on hand was Pittsburg Councilwoman Merl Craft, who is Hines’ great-aunt.

“This is a life that was taken that didn’t have to be taken. My other grandson didn’t have to do that, he should have pulled over when the police came,” LeBlue said. “So, when y’all are driving around, if the police come up behind y’all, don’t do a damn high-speed chase, pull yourselves over. Because if my grandson hadn’t been driving …”

LeBlue paused for a few seconds before finishing her thought, but everyone knew what she was about to say.

“There’s no way in the world we would be here,” she continued, through her tears.

An official identification on Hines is expected sometime in the next 24 hours, after the coroner completes a dental check.